Kingdom Hearts: the Final Awakening
by Eternitymaze
Summary: Two years have passed since Kingdom Hearts2. Riku is missing, Roxas and Namine are gone, and a new organization is after Sora. He must set out on a new adventure, and is forced to cooperate with a new girl whom he despices. A new grand adventure!
1. Prologue

Welcome to Kingdom Hearts: Final Awakening.

The prologue is just here for information around the storyline and the characters.

There are a lot of new characters that never existed in the real Kingdom Hearts games, and the story takes place around two years after Kingdom Hearts 2.

Characters

-Sora-

You all know Sora from the amazing Kingdom Hearts games.

Sora is now 17 and has changed slightly in personality.

Apparently he's just like an average 17-year-old boy and he's had no need for the keyblade since the defeat of Xemnas.

A year ago strange things suddenly started to happen again.

Roxas parted with Sora, and so did Namine with Kairi, Riku disappeared and a strange girl named Misa came to the destiny island.

Because of this, Sora dislikes her and blames her to be the reason of everything.

Sora has also been unable to search for Riku since the paths between the worlds are currently blocked again.

-Riku-

Riku is now 18.

Before he disappeared a year ago he was actually a top student.

There is no traces of where Riku can have went and this bothers Sora a lot. (To fans of Riku; fear not, he is coming to the story soon enough)

-Kairi-

Kairi is a 17-year-old girl with pretty good grades.

A year ago Namine parted with her again and Kairi feels kind of half.

She doesn't dislike Misa like Sora does and is sure it wasn't Misa's fault that anything of this happened. She is mostly the same person as she has always been.

-Misa-

Misa is a beautiful and mysterious girl who appeared out of nowhere a year ago.

She is 17 just like Sora and Kairi, but she doesn't go to school of her own personal reasons.

She doesn't speak much but doesn't really feel the need to do so either.

Who and what, Misa really is will be a mystery for a long time.

-Yoru-

Yoru is a very young girl who appears early in the series.

She claims to be a member of a strange group called "the others" which apparently has no connection to the old organization XIII.

She seams to be probably as young as 14-15 and can act very strangely.

She is often seen talking to herself, fighting her own mind or even punching her own head.

-Damian-

Damian is an 18-year-old member of "the others".

He is first observed in Port Royal where he tries to make contact with Sora and Misa.

He is often seen around Yoru but they never seem to be cooperating.

Damian can sometimes act just like a mix of Axel and Demyx, but he doesn't look anything like them.

-Roxas-

Roxas parted with Sora a year ago.

Nobody now knows where he is or why he left in the first place.

Later in the series he can be seen with a character who is simply called "Nightshade".

-Axel-

Axel and many of the other members of the former Organization XIII have been given new life, by who is still a secret.

Axel is now almost always seen together with "Nightshade" who adores him.

-Nightshade-

"Nightshade" is a hooded character that is always seen around Axel, Demyx or Roxas. He is only alone a few times.

"Nightshade" is a very mysterious character and he will remain mysterious for a long while.

He adores Axel in every way and always calls him Senpai, or even Axel-nii.

-The Empress-

The empress is a mysterious character who is often spoken of.

Sometimes the story will be seen from where she is.

Her part is almost like Maleficent's, except more powerful.

She is said to have a connection with "the others" and also to be the reason of several former organization members' resurrection.

-Namine-

Namine parted with Kairi a year ago.

Why is still a mystery, and where she is now will remain a secret for a while.


	2. Chapter 1: 'the others'

Okay, I'm pretty new to this site, still getting used to it'

I just thought I'd add some info here that I forgot to put in the prologue. This story is completely fictional and will have nothing to do with the future released Kingdom Hearts games, just to make that clear.

Some warnings of future contents that may show up: there will be slightly slash able themes between both male and female characters, there will be no explicitness though, which means NO lemons. The story might however contain torture, just might, I don't know yet… but I'll warn you if it happens.

So, please enjoy the story from now on

Thank you.

--

Darkness... that was everything.  
Nothing but darkness and the sound of footsteps walking on a wet ground existed.  
Rain fell from the sky making the road even harder to see in the terrible darkness.  
There was a glimpse of light for a little moment, just enough to see the walking girl's metallic silver hair shine before it disappeared.  
Then there was a loud sound.  
Where was she heading in this horrible night?  
Water soaked her clothes and came in trough her shoes, her face was wet and it was impossible to tell if she was crying or not.

Suddenly she noticed something in front of her.  
A city? A little town maybe...  
She didn't know, but she walked towards it.  
Her grey eyes looked around.  
Houses, streets, people lived here.  
What was she doing here? She shouldn't be here, she shouldn't even exist.

"Destiny Islands..." She whispered, raindrops dripping from her lips as she spoke.  
"Will you give me freedom..?"

--

It was a normal day on Destiny Islands.  
The sun was shining on the blue sky, waves run over the shores making the same noise as always and then finally school was over.  
All of the students headed home, everyone including a former keyblade bearer.(Me: I'm saying former because he hasn't needed the keyblade for two years)

"Sora!" Kairi's voice could suddenly be heard behind him.  
Sora turned around to look at her.  
He had grown indeed and was definitely not the boy he had been anymore.  
His hair was the same though, but his eyes, his eyes had lost the liveliness that usually filled them.  
Kairi was the same as always, her hair was slightly shorter (me: shorter than in Kingdom Hearts 2 I mean) and she too had grown a little.  
She was mostly the same though.

As she reached him she smiled her usual warm smile.  
"Why did you walk away from us all of a sudden? Are you in a hurry?" she asked with a little giggle.  
Sora turned away from her seeming a little grumpy.  
Kairi wiped the smile of her face at once.  
"Oh...Is it something about Riku? Any news?" she asked still following the former keyblade bearer.  
Sora didn't speak for a while; they just walked beside the wooden fence having a great view over the shore and the island on the other side, the island where everything started a long time ago.  
A playful little breeze rushed trough Sora's brown hair and a small sigh escaped his lips before he finally spoke.  
"That's the problem." He said silently and turned around to face Kairi again.  
Kairi stopped walking looking slightly surprised.  
"Don't you understand it yet Kairi? Every link with the other worlds are gone, they're nowhere! I cannot gain information! I cannot leave this place! Do you know how helpless that makes me feel?"

Sora had been upset about this for a long time now.  
Nobody knew what had happened to the links between the many worlds, and nobody knew what had happened to Riku.

Kairi placed her hands on Sora's shoulders and looked into his eyes.  
"I understand Sora. But there's really nothing we can do..." She said, at the last part she looked down trying to hide how sad she was about it.  
Sora moved away from her and started to walk home again, and Kairi did the same thing.  
The only sound they could hear was now the sound of the waves, they were always there, and the sound was always the same.  
Suddenly they saw a girl at their age sitting on the other side of the wooden fence on a little rock.  
Unlike them she didn't wear a school uniform.  
Her hair was long and in a silvery colour just like Riku's, the wind played trough it like if her hair was something more special.  
Her glance was frozen and her eyes almost the same colour as her hair.  
She looked at the little island at the other side, or so it seemed, she just sat there silently, not moving a limb.  
Kairi ran over to the wooden fence and leaned over it.  
"Misa!" she called at her waving with her left arm.  
The girl who was obviously named Misa turned around and looked at her, but there was no kind of emotion in her eyes.  
"Can I come over there to you?" Kairi asked.  
Misa seemed to think for a little while but finally nodded.

As Kairi was about to climb over the fence Sora stopped her with a simple question.  
"Why do you talk to that girl?" he asked.  
Kairi looked at him over her shoulder.  
"Why shouldn't I?" she asked back.  
Sora looked down at the silver haired girl, a strange kind of hatred filled his blue eyes.  
"She's no good. How did she get here anyways?" he said.  
Kairi climbed back over to the side where Sora was and crossed her arms.  
"Sora, now you're being mean again" she said.  
Sora looked at his red headed friend now seeming slightly angry.  
"She showed up two days after Riku disappeared. Coincidence? I don't think so, He said.  
Kairi placed her hands at her hips.  
"Now you're blaming her for that again! She's a nice girl Sora, just give her a chance!" She said slightly annoyed.  
"That girl knows something we don't know! She got here after the link disappeared Kairi! I don't want to know her!" With this Sora left them.  
Kairi sighed and ran after him.  
"Sora! Wait up!"

Misa looked down at the waves, her pupils getting whiter and whiter.  
At each wave stroking the shore she whispered words nobody could hear, and as her pupils darkened again she looked around her as if she didn't know what was going on.

--

Sora leaned back in the chair in front of his desk.  
He had just finished his homework, and now he was getting tired.  
He sighed and looked out of the window where the sun was starting to set, the night sky looked beautiful dressed in red light and stars that came out to early.  
He shut his books and was just about to get out of the chair when he suddenly heard someone speaking behind him.

"Well, well, well. The great keyblade master, I've heard a lot about you" the voice of a young girl said.  
Sora turned around to face a person that looked like a shadow.  
She was hooded and wore only black.  
The first thought that got into him was organization XIII, but he noticed pretty fast that the only resemblance to their uniform was the hood.  
"Who the heck are you?" Sora asked and got out of the chair.

He heard the hooded girl giggle.  
"Do you want my name Sora-kun?" she asked and walked over to him.  
Sora looked down at her, their height difference was pretty great, but he still couldn't see her face behind the hood.  
"A name is an important thing to a person Sora-kun, but I'll give you mine if you give me just a tiny bit of information" she said.  
Sora walked a little away from her.  
"What kind of information?" he asked.  
The girl giggled again.  
"Just this; where can I find the girl with silver hair?".  
Sora looked at her strangely but answered.  
"I don't know where she lives. But you can ask Kairi since she appears to be her 'Best friend' or something".  
The girl giggled once more and suddenly swung her right arm in a strange maner.  
The giggle turned into hysterical laughter and her hands moved up to the face she had underneath the hood.  
The laughter stopped, and as her hands were all visible again she was bleeding from two of her pale fingers.  
She gave a little laugh again and looked up at Sora, or so it appeared.  
"I thank you allot oh great keyblade master! And now, I shall grant you my name!" She got up to full height again.  
"I'm Yoru, youngest member of the others!" she said, "Remember that keyblade master, for you shall meet us again!"  
With this she moved her right hand up in the air, a drop of blood fell to the ground and from the stain shadows started to grow.

She moved her hand back down and an evil little giggle left her as the shadow surrounded her.  
"Do not forget us Sora"  
And so, the shadows and Yoru shrank to nothing and she was gone.

Sora looked at the bloodstain that was still there.  
What had just happened exactly? Who where "the others"?  
Unable to really think Sora walked over to his bed and dropped himself down on it.  
Something strange was about to start again...


	3. Chapter 2: depart

Sora woke up the next day with the memories of last evening still glued to his mind.

He sat up in bed, noticing that he hadn't undressed before he fell asleep either.

Slowly he planted his feet on the floor and headed for the bathroom.

He had a horrible headache, but that was nothing unusual. He was actually quite used to that, but it still hurt though.

Not noticing whether there was anyone else up yet or not he shut the bathroom door behind him.

"Damn" he sighed lifting his hand to gently rub his forehead.

He moved to the sink, turning on the cold water.

The young keyblade bearer rested his hands on the edge of the sink, observing as the water ran down the white sides of it.

Now the only sound he could hear was the sound of water, sometimes interrupted by his own breathing.

He moved his now pale hands into the beam of water, letting the cool liquid caress his skin. He cupped his hands, letting the water fill them, and as it did he lowered his head and splashed the cold water in his face.

A sigh escaped his lips as he the liquid ran down his face and neck, some of it coming down to his shoulders, but most of it ended up in the sink again.

He rested his hands on the sides of the sink once more, turned of the water and lifted his glance just to meet it in the mirror in front of him.

What met him in the mirror almost shocked him.

For a second he could have sworn his eyes were silver, but the next moment he saw they were as blue as always.

"Damn head" he said to himself and turned away from the mirror.

Even if he had a headache he came up with the brilliant idea to take a shower, so he lat his clothes drop to the floor and did so.

--

Sora sighed closing the bathroom door behind him and heading back into the hallway.

He kept drying his hair with a white towel and started to walk towards his bedroom again, then he suddenly heard something behind him, light steps in a way, only interrupted by a silent female voice.

"Sora...?"

The keyblade bearer turned around, his blue glance meeting eyes of perfect silver.

Sora looked at the girl before him with something that reminded of pure disgust or somewhat hatred.

"What are you doing in my house?" he replied angrily.

Misa looked away, her drowsy silver ones rested on the floor beneath them.

"I beg your pardon...I was told to come here" she answered, one of her pale hands moved up to her silver bangs and started twirling a bang around one of her fingers.

Sora started to get annoyed with her, coming into his house without permission? And who the hell had told her to come there in the first place?

"You know what? Just get out" he said and turned away from her, heading for his bedroom again.

Misa looked up, her drowsy eyes waking up a little.

"I said I was sorry. I don't know why they told me to come here," she said heading after him.

Sora closed the door behind him as he finally reached his bedroom after what seemed like an eternity.

"I told you to get out!" he yelled at Misa, who was standing on the other side of the door.

"You don't have to be rude!" she yelled back. The sound of her voice was followed by a slam against the door and the sound of something dropping to the floor.

With other words, Misa had decided to sit down in front of Soras room and simply wait for him to come out.

-Fast Forward-

Sora sat by his desk, sketching down something that looked like an escape plan.

His thoughts wandered from the girl outside his room to Riku and then to the closed gates between the many worlds, and then suddenly back to Misa as she spoke to him from outside the door.

"I don't understand why you dislike me so much" she said.

"I've never done anything to you".

Sora got up from his chair and slammed his hands against the door.

"Stop playing stupid and make everything normal again!" he yelled at her.

Silence ruled between them for a moment before the silver haired girl spoke again.

"I don't understand..." she said silently, but loud enough for Sora to hear it.

The young keyblade bearer dropped to the floor, turned around and rested his back against he door too.

"Who sent you here in the first place?" he replied, no anger, no disgust filled his voice. This time it was just his plain curiosity.

"I don't really know," she answered

"They were both hooded so I couldn't see their faces".

Sora didn't know what to think about that. His glance moved over the floor suddenly noticing a little bloodstain from yesterday.

The words of the hooded girl resounded in his head again "The others"...

were they the same as Organization XIII? What were they in the first place? Could he even be sure something like "The others" really existed?

Confusion was not a funny thing at all.

"Sora...?" Misa said silently from the other side of the door.

Sora snapped out of his thoughts and replied in a hurry.

"What?" he said.

"Will you please open the door now?" she asked.

Sora got up from the floor. It couldn't hurt too much just to talk to her for once, and even if she was responsible for everything that was wrong in Soras life right now he could not make her fix it by being a complete asshole either.

"Alright" he replied and did as she requested only to have her falling into his room on her back. If something you're leaning onto is suddenly removed it's hard to keep your balance.

She got up in a hurry mumbling "sorry" so many times the word almost lost all meaning. She got her horribly long hair away from her face and looked up at Sora again. Sora wasn't so much taller than her, for a girl Misa was actually very tall when one thought of it.

His blue eyes swam in her silver for a while. At times it seemed like if she had no pupils, but they always returned. Sora found that very strange but ended up thinking that he saw things because of his aching head.

He came to think that she was somewhat incredibly beautiful, her pale skin that seemed like if it had never been exposed to sunlight was so fair, without a single mark or spot which was normal for teenagers.

It didn't take much time before Sora snapped out of it.

"It's okay, but just get out of my room already" he said pointing his finger at the open door.

Misa nodded and did as he had told her to, heading back into the hallway outside Soras room.

Sora followed her out, shut the door behind him and headed for the living room downstairs. He heard Misas careful light steps follow behind him as they walked down the stairs.

Nobody else seemed to be up yet, or perhaps they were all out already. In fact Sora didn't really know what time it was either, or if he had school today.

Right now he didn't care and decided not to go to school today and come up with a good excuse tomorrow.

Sora plumped down in the sofa and just stared at the TV as if trying to force it to turn itself on without touching the remote control.

Misa on her side just stood at the floor, her glance planted on her own feet and her hand twirling her long hair.

"Sit down before you get hurt," Sora said still looking at the TV.

Misa moved her glance away from her feet and up to him, nodded her head slightly and sat down in a chair beside the sofa.

"So what do you do every day? Not going to school and all" Sora suddenly asked interrupting the silence in the room.

Misa gave a sound showing that she was thinking.

"I don't really know" she answered

"I mostly just walk around, looking at the beauty of the sun, envying the ocean".

Sora moved his glance over to her

"Why do you envy the ocean?" he asked. It was in fact a strange thing to envy, but when he thought of it he always saw Misa somewhere close to the ocean.

Misas lips curved into a little smile and she looked down as if she was embarrassed.

"I envy it its freedom..." she answered silently

"The Ocean is allowed to go anywhere it wants to, and I can't. Im forced to stay here and wait for the eternal sleep, whenever it may come".

Sora stared at her as she spoke. The girl chose to put her words in a strange and somewhat confusing way, but the description pretty much illustrated something Sora felt as well.

As he had done almost four years ago, he now felt trapped at destiny islands.

There were no way out, he couldn't leave and was therefore doomed to stay there for all eternity. Once he had longed to get back here, now the only thing he really wanted was to get away.

"I see..." Sora silently replied as Misa was done talking.

He got himself out of the sofa and headed for the kitchen. As any normal person he got hungry.

Misa looked at him not knowing whether to follow him or stay in the chair.

"I'm getting myself some breakfast," Sora said as he opened the door to the kitchen. He turned around to look at Misa again

"You want something?"

Misa shook her head as an answer.

"No, no thank you" she said.

"Okay, do as you please," replied Sora as he disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Misa alone in the living room.

-Fast forward-

"Sora!" Kairi's voice yelled as she entered Sora's house.

Sora and Misa were now both watching TV with great interest but turned their heads to look at the apparently very angry redhead in the doorway.

"What?" Sora replied in a halfway confused tone.

Kairi looked from Sora to Misa and back to Sora again, looking as if though she had just forgotten what she actually came there for.

She closed the door behind her and dropped her school stuff at the floor.

"Is she the reason why you didn't come to school today?" she asked pointing her finger at Misa.

Sora looked at Kairi for a while, obviously trying to find a better reason for skipping school than that.

"Not really. I woke up with a horrible headache, he answered,

"I just didnt feel like going to school"

Kairi made herself at home and sat down in another chair beside the sofa.

"And Misa?" she said in a questioning tone.

"Oh Misa... well she came to visit me a couple of hours ago" he said not telling the whole truth.

Kairi smiled at this

"So you're finally friends then?" she said.

Sora didn't really know what to say, Misa wasn't as bad as he had thought but he still blamed her for Riku, Roxas and the closed gates between the worlds.

Because of this he didn't know what to consider Misa, perhaps like a friend in practise or a half-friend if there was a word like that.

"I suppose so" he simply answered and returned to watching the TV.

Kairi smiled and started to talk to Misa who rarely answered her, and when she did it was mostly "oh" or "yes".

-Fast forward-

Around 6 oclock Kairi left saying something about homework and that she waited to see Sora at school tomorrow, and about half an hour later Misa left too without actually explaining.

Sora felt like a lazy bum considering that he woke up around 01.00 and that he had been watching TV since about 03.00 till now.

So about 10 minutes after Misa left he decided to go for a walk along the beach.

The cool wind rushed through Soras brown hair. The only sound he could hear was the sound of the waves as they climbed up the shore to be taken back out again.

He had removed his shoes a while ago and the sand felt great against his bare feet as he walked, not really heading anywhere at all.

Thoughts swam through his head, thoughts considering everything that was wrong in his life. Riku, Roxas, the worlds...

Suddenly as Sora lifted his glance he noticed a familiar silver haired girl sitting, knees under her chin, in the sand in front of him.

She held a little stick in her right hand and drew something in the sand with it.

Sora walked over to her.

She didn't look at him but just kept drawing.

It looked like a key, slowly taking form as a weapon Sora knew so well.

A keyblade.

"Misa?" he said making her look up, startled as if she hadn't noticed he was even there.

"Huh?" she replied and dropped the stick in the sand right over her drawing.

Sora looked at the image under the stick.

"What were you drawing?" he asked.

Misa looked at the stick and picked it up again.

"I don't really know..." she answered

"I get images of it in my head very often... I think it's called a keyblade or something".

She moved her hand over the image making it disappear and then she started to draw with the stick again.

Sora sat down beside her, not knowing exactly why he didn't dislike her so much anymore or why he decided to sit there with her.

"It is... you just drew the kingdom key," he explained.

Misa didn't look at him but just kept drawing another keyblade.

Slowly it took shape-letting Sora remember the name of the certain keyblade.

"And that's the Oath keeper" he said.

Misa seemed to be smiling

"How do you know about these things Sora?" she asked and looked up at him.

The sun started to slowly die in the horizon as day went towards the twilight, and the light slightly got the red glow of sunset.

Sora looked at her smiling face trying to find the words he was looking for.

Finally as he was about to speak a shadow appeared behind Misa, a way too familiar shadow.

"Misa behind you!" Sora said loudly making Misa turn around in confusion just to meet the yellow glowing eyes of a heartless.

She uttered a cry, startled at this thing that she had never seen before.

It wasn't one of the usual small ones, it was bigger and Sora had indeed met this kind before too.

Both the adolescents got up from their sitting positions.

The heartless got ready to strike, Sora reached his hand out at his side and as the heartless jumped towards them, before Misa could even get to scream the heartless was hit to the ground and its stolen heart escaped in the air.

Misa looked up at Sora from her position behind him and noticed what he was now holding in his hand, the very same object of which she had seen in her head for such a long time, a keyblade.

"So that's why... "she whispered.

Sora lat the keyblade disappear again.

"Damn heartless...what are they doing here now?" he said and moved his glance over to Misa.

"You okay?" he asked. He didn't know why, but somehow he had just worried about her.

The silver haired girl nodded "y-yeah" she said

"but...what was that thing?"

"That was a heartless" Sora replied.

"A what?" Misa said in a confused way.

Sora noticed that the shadows had started to appear elsewhere on the beach.

What were they doing there? Hadn't he defeated them once and for all more than two years ago?

"I obviously don't have time to explain right now" he said in a hurry and summoned the keyblade again.

"Stay here! I'll take care of those bastards!" he said loudly as he ran off to fight them.

Misa obeyed him as a good dog and watched as Sora took them down one by one.

It was in a way horribly impressive.

Suddenly she felt as if she was being watched and turned around just to face another bunch of heartless.

She backed away from them and got ready to run, scream, anything that would make her get away from them.

Then they were suddenly all over her, faster than she could manage to react.

She uttered a cry as she fell down on her back with the heartless covering her.

How the hell was she going to get out of this?

Sora was in the middle of a fight when he suddenly heard a scream from the direction where he had told Misa to stay.

He turned around to see a whole bunch of those bloody heartless jumping on her and holding her down.

"Misa!" he yelled turning his attention away from the heartless attacking himself and headed for the silver haired girl on the ground.

One by one heartless jumped up beside him as he ran, and one by one he took them all down.

Finally, as he had almost reached Misa and got ready to attack again the air around her was suddenly brightly lit up.

Sora stopped in his tracks covering his eyes from the light, glowing numbers circled around the girl and in a moment, so fast Sora couldn't even see it, the heartless were all gone and hearts floated in the air above them.

Misa stood exposing her full height, still covered in the light which slowly faded again, and as it did Sora could see what had struck the heartless down.

In Misas right hand she held a weapon, a weapon shaped like a strange kind of blade, but it was obviously not a keyblade. It was about the length of Misas legs and a mix between black and silver in colour.

She looked so confused it was obvious that she had no idea of what just happened.

Sora in his case didnt look any better at all.

"What the heck just happened!?" He exclaimed and stared at her wide-eyed.

The silver haired girl looked at him with almost exactly the same expression.

"I-I have no idea" she said and looked at the sword in her hand.

"What is this thing?"

Sora stared at the sword for a while. All of the heartless were all gone now so they could both relax.

"I don't know" he answered,

"Can I have a look at it?"

Misa nodded and handed him the sword, which immediately disappeared from the keyblade bearers hand and came back to Misa surrounded by glowing numbers.

She stared at it wide-eyed

"Holy..." she said silently looking up at Sora again.

He shook his shoulders

"Well, it obviously belongs to you" he said.

Misa nodded again

"Looks like it" she replied and sat down in the sand.

Sora looked at her from above, Misa's silver eyes were fixed at the blood red sunset in the horizon, and soon Sora's blue ones were too.

"Sora...?" Misa suddenly said interrupting the somewhat comfortable silence.

"What?" Sora replied looking down at her from his standing position.

Misas glance moved down in the sand.

"No...It was nothing," she said as if though she didn't want to say what she had intended to. She got up to her full height, brushed some sand away from her knees and thighs and moved her glance to Sora.

"I'm going home. I guess we could both use some sleep," she said.

Sora nodded

"Yeah, I'm strangely tired though I slept for such a long time" he replied.

They said their goodnights and then they both headed in opposite directions.

When Sora got home he fell asleep at once, drifting into peaceful dreams.

At least one thing was back to normal now.

--

The next day Sora woke up to familiar voices calling his name.

He opened his eyes slowly thinking that the voices were probably just part of the dream but no.

He jumped up in bed, startled by the two faces that were staring at him as he woke up.

"What!? Y-you guys!?" he exclaimed as he understood that they were really there.

His old companions both smiled at him.

"Who else should we be?" Goofy said and gave one of his usual giggles.

"You're such a pansy Sora" was Donalds reply to it.

Sora jumped at them with a heart-warming laugh.

"Donald! Goofy! I've missed you guys!" he said smiling as he had done before, a smile that had been gone for a long time.

"Aww, we missed you too" Donald said giving Sora a hug, Goofy did so too and the three friends sat on the floor in a triple embrace.

"How did you two get here?" Sora asked in an excited tone when they lat go of him.

Goofy seemed to be thinking but Donald answered at once.

"As we usually do, in the gummi-ship" he said.

Sora looked at him in a confused way.

"You mean the links are open again?" he asked.

Goofy replied this time.

"I think so," he said simply.

"The king told us to come here and get you" Donald continued.

Sora smiled

"You mean I can leave this place again?" he said happily.

Both of his friends nodded with a smile on their faces.

"You're coming with us to the castle whether you want to or not" Goofy said.

Sora laughed again

"you guys. When do we leave?"

"Whenever you're ready," Donald said.

Sora got up in a hurry

"Then we'll leave at once!" he said happily and headed for his closet to get some clothes.

Goofy seemed to be thinking again.

"Uhm...didn't the King mention someone else we were supposed to take with us?" he suddenly asked.

Donald seemed to be thinking too

"Yeah, he did" he answered

"Some silver haired girl...do you know anyone like that Sora?"

Sora was busy finding clothes in his closet, no school today either!

"Huh?" was his super smart reply.

"The King told us to take some silver haired girl with us too" Goofy said.

"But when he told us that we would be able to meet you again we were too happy to catch her name"

Sora pulled a shirt on and thought a little

"Well...I only know one silver haired girl on this island" He said

"Her name is Misa, but I don't really know where she lives"

Donald and Goofy gave a sigh

"We'll just have to search for her then" Donald said not really wanting to go look for someone.

"You don't have to..." a silent female voice said from the door.

They all turned around to see whom it was, just to be met with the sight of Misa standing there, her long silver hair glittering in the sunlight from the window.

"Misa? Why are you here this early?" Sora asked, happy that he had just put his pants on.

Misa twirled her hair again.

"I was told to...by those two from yesterday," she answered.

'The others again?' Sora thought as he put on his socks.

Donald and Goofy got up from the floor

"Is this the girl Sora?" Goofy asked.

"Well, yeah" Sora replied and walked over to them.

"You guys, this is Misa. Misa, this is Donald and Goofy, the best companions a guy can have"

Misa looked at the funny figures with a drowsy but slightly confused glance.

"Nice to meet ya Misa" Goofy said and Donald came with an

"It's a pleasure to meet you".

Misa stopped twirling her hair and bowed her head

"The pleasure is mine Donald, Goofy" she said and as she lifted her head she smiled at them.

"So can we leave now? Pleeeaaase?" Sora said impatiently.

"I guess we can" Donald replied and headed for the door with Goofy and a very happy Sora following.

"You're coming too Miss" Goofy said as the four of them headed down the hallway.

Misa looked very confused.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Sora turned around and smiled at her.

"Far away Misa. We're going to another world"


	4. Chapter 3: Disney castle

Dark corridors, cold stones covering everything from floor to roof.

At times there was a lit torch casting pale light around itself, but most of them were burned out.

The whole place was like a great dungeon and even the smallest sound gave a horrible echo through the empty hallways.

Now it was silent, there was more to hear among the dead in a cemetery.

"You wretched girl!" an angry man's voice broke the horrible silence; his yell was followed by the loud sound of a slam and a little yelp.

"Do you have the slightest idea of what you have done!?" the man yelled again and was now answered by another voice, a voice that seemed to belong to a young girl.

"Yes! But I don't see how the hell that can hurt anyone!" she yelled back.

The voices came from one of the rooms, an empty room, like a cell in an old prison.

The two persons they belonged to was a hooded man all dressed in black and a young girl, also in black but with no hood.

Her hair reached to right above her shoulders and was in a very deep blue colour. Her eyes were opposite from her hair strangely light, and in a colour that mingled between blue and green which made her look crazy.

She was young, very young, about 13-14 years old.

She glared up at the man whose face was hidden in the darkness.

He raised his hand and swiftly slapped her over the face.

She gave a little yelp and moved her own hand to where he had hit her.

"You stupid, stupid girl" He said and lat his hand fall to his side again "You were never to contact that boy! No one was to contact him before he had left that island!"

"I don't see what kind of difference it makes!" the girl spat back at him.

There was silence again, and then the man started to laugh, a laughter that could make anyone shiver with fear.

An evil little smile curved around the young girl's lips as the man's laughter got even louder.

For a little while he sounded like a maniac, then suddenly he stopped and violently pushed the girl down on the hard stone floor.

She cried out in pain as her back hit the floor beneath her.

"And that is exactly why you are so damn stupid!" he yelled at her.

"I don't even understand why I haven't just destroyed you! You are in every way useless to me!"

The girl shrank in fear now, as if she suddenly had a change in personality.

"Please" She pleaded "I never meant to do anything wrong"

The man turned away from her and walked out of the room.

"Number 7, take her back with you. Make sure she doesn't cause further trouble," He said before he got out of the door.

A figure appeared from the shadows in a corner.

This one was hooded as well, but not as tall as the other man.

Out from the figure's body shape it was obviously also male.

"Of course my liege" He replied, his voice revealing him as a teenager.

He walked over to where the girl laid shaking at the floor, bowed down and reached out a hand for her.

"Let's go, Yoru"

--

With Sora and co

The morning sun crept over the light blue sky, sending rays of light that reflected in the deep blue ocean.

Destiny Islands were still asleep, except from a few morning birds that were already leaving their homes to get wherever they were going.

Amongst these were four strange characters, who were more or less awake.

"It's just as cool as before!" Sora shouted while jumping up and down like the kid he once used to be.

The four of them were all outside Sora's house in front of the Gummi ship.

Misa stared at this new strange object, her eyes widened under her long bangs. She had never seen anything like this, neither had she seen Sora this happy.

"What is that?" she asked looking at Goofy who stood beside her.

Goofy smiled, well goofily "That's the Gummi ship. We travel between worlds with it," he answered, sounding very proud.

The silver haired girl stared at the Gummi ship again.

A ship that could travel between worlds... She wondered what the other worlds were like. Were they better than this one? Or perhaps they were all in war, or worse.

"Kairi!" Sora suddenly shouted making Misa throw her silver glance at him instead.

"Kairi?" Donald replied looking at Sora strangely.

"I'll have to say goodbye to Kairi!" Sora continued "I've gotta tell her I'm gonna go find Riku!"

Goofy nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you should tell someone where you're going" he replied.

Donald shook his head, obviously he wanted to leave at once and get back to Disney castle.

"You go tell her that Sora, we'll make the Gummi ship ready" Donald said when he was done being grumpy.

Sora smiled and did another jump before he ran of shouting "I'll be right back!"

Misa looked at the two funny figures as they entered the strange ship in front of her.

She was really going to leave this calm world&

Donald popped his head out of the Gummi ship's door.

"Are you coming or not?" He asked the girl who stood in deep thoughts outside.

She looked at him through her hair.

"I...I guess I'll stay out here... just for a little while" she answered, "I have to say goodbye to this place".

Donald didn't say anything but seemed to understand her; anyhow he just walked back into the Gummi ship.

Misa sat down in the grass that covered Sora's little garden. She gave a little sigh and gently moved her hair away from her face.

Finally she was going to leave this place, but now as the moment of departure came... it made her sad.

She lifted her silver glance to the blue sky, one final moment to envy the sky and the ocean& one last time.

Because now she could be the ocean, she could be the sky and drift away through worlds she had longed to see.

A little smiled formed at her delicate pink lips and she closed her eyes, just feeling everything around her, saving a memory to keep forever.

--

Sora stopped outside Kairi's house and knocked at the door many times before he started to even think of what time it was.

Was the girl even up yet?

He knocked another time, listening for possible footsteps inside, anything that could tell him whether she was awake or not.

'Please open the door already' thought Sora as he impatiently started to rock forth and back on his heels and toes.

Then there was a click from the door's lock, a creaking sound and the door was opened.

The young redhead stood in front of him in the doorway, already dressed in her uniform but whatsoever she looked very tired.

"Sora?" She asked lazily "What are you doing here this early?"

"I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave" the keyblade master answered cheerfully.

Kairi's expression went from tired to confused in a second.

"Leave? What are you talking about?" she replied.

"Well, Uhm... it's kinda hard to explain but..." Sora started out not knowing exactly what to say to his friend "you see... somehow the worlds have been connected again"

As these great news sank in Kairi's face lit up with happiness.

"Really?" she asked sounding slightly excited.

Sora nodded, smiling back at her.

"That's great Sora! Now we can finally look for Riku!" She said, "When do we leave?"

The redhead started to ramble on about how great it would be to see their friends again and so on, obviously with great joy.

The keyblade bearer understood that his childhood friend had somehow misunderstood him. He hadn't said she could come with him, and he had said that he came to say goodbye.

"Uhm...Kairi" Sora interrupted and Kairi stopped talking.

"Hmm? What?" she replied, and was still smiling as happily as before.

Sora scratched the back of his head.

"Well... I am the only one supposed to leave this time" he explained, "Donald and Goofy came to fetch me, and I have to see the king today"

Kairis smiled was wiped away.

"N-no. Sora, not again" she stammered, her blue glance sank to the ground beneath her. Kairi had gone through this before. Sora left, he didn't come back, and everyone forgot him. She would not go through that again, never!

Sora gently tried to put his hands on his friend's shoulders. Somehow he knew what she thought and what she felt.

"Kairi, I promise I won't be gone for long..." he said calmly, but Kairi hit his hands away.

"No! You've promised that before!" she said loudly with quivering lips and eyes sparkly with tears "And you didn't come back! On top of that we all forgot you! Sora, I don't want to forget again!"

In this moment where all the bad memories flashed before the young girl's eyes, this moment when she didn't know what was right to feel, confused with herself and everything around her she threw her arms around her childhood friend in an embrace.

The redheaded girl buried her face in Sora's shirt as a lonely tear escaped her blue eyes and fell onto the dark fabric.

Sora was surprised by Kairi's action, but slowly put his arms around the girl who shivered with confusing sadness.

"I don't want to forget again..." she whispered and dug her nails into the fabric of Sora's shirt.

"I swear I'll come back this time" Sora said trying to calm her down "please, trust me on this".

"Do you swear on your own heart?" Kairi asked as she moved out of the embrace with a little sniff as she dried her tears away.

Sora gave her a warm smile and put his hand to his heart.

"I swear on my own heart that I'll come back as soon as I've spoken to the king," he said with a grin.

Kairi smiled back at him drying away another tear.

"I trust you Sora," she said, finally happy again.

The two childhood friends looked at each other for a while, there was only silence around them, but it was a pleasant silence that they both enjoyed while it lasted.

"You better get going then" Kairi said "You mustn't let the king wait"

Sora nodded "yeah, I guess" He replied.

Kairi moved back inside, her hand placed at the door.

"See you around then Sora" She said with a warm smile.

"Yeah... see ya" Sora said and started to head back to the gummi ship while waving at Kairi, who waved back before she shut the door behind her.

The red headed girl lat her body drop to the floor as soon as Sora couldn't see her anymore.

She sat, back to the door and knees to the chin, and she just stared at the room before her.

"This time Sora..." she whispered "This time you have to come back"

--

"What are you doing out there?"

Donald's voice suddenly snapped at Misa who had completely engulfed herself in her own thoughts.

"Huh?" she replied and looked up to find whoever had spoken to her.

"Forget about it" Donald said "do you see Sora anywhere?"

Misa got up to her feet, brushed some grass away from her knees and looked around.

"Yes..." was her simple answer to the question.

And quite right, Sora was coming towards the Gummi ship in a hurry.

"Good" Donald replied, "That lazy bum sure knows how to waste his time".

The silver haired girl continued to stare at Sora as he ran towards them, her eyes seamed to lose their pupils for a moment, then they were back.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting" Sora said as he finally reached them.

"You better be" Donald replied, possibly a little annoyed "We were about to leave without you".

"Aww, don't be like that" Sora said

"Let's just leave, we're all ready to go anyway"

With this the three of them entered the gummi ship, where Goofy already sat and waited for them.

Misa looked around with hungry eyes, trying to suck in every piece of the new strange surroundings. Everything was so new to her, at times it seamed like she saw life through the eyes of a confused little child.

Sora and Donald sat down in their usual seats; the keybearer was obviously very excited and could barely wait for take-off.

"Where's Misa supposed to sit?" Goofy suddenly asked.

The rest of them looked at him strangely.

"Now... I didn't really think of that..." Donald replied and crossed his arms.

Misa observed the discussion that followed, her pail fingers twirled around a strain of her silver hair.

"Misa" Sora's voice saying her name made her look at him directly.

"I guess you'll just have to hold onto something," he said.

The silver haired girl slowly nodded and walked up behind Sora's chair, she figured the easiest thing she could hold onto would be one of the chairs, and Sora's was closest to her.

"Then, we're all ready for take-off!" Goofy said, before Donald turned on a switch and the Gummi ship started moving.

Misa's eyes widened under her long silver bangs and she clenched her fists on Sora's chair, she was not at all used to this, and that was quite clear to everyone.

"Hold on, this might be a bumpy ride for a first timer" Donald said as they were in air and ready to go.

Misa obeyed and clenched by all might to Sora's chair; she was obviously terrified of this new situation, even if they hadn't started flying for real just yet.

Sora looked at her, he had never seen her like this. Not that he had actually cared to look at her much before the last few days but& she acted as if this was one of the worst things that could possibly happen to her.

"Are you scared, Misa?" He asked her, a very simple question indeed. But wait& was he worried about her? No, that couldn't be it, could it? He didn't care if she fell into the sea and drowned, it wouldn't matter to him even a bit if that happened. But right now, just maybe for once... no, it was just a question to be polite. Nothing more.

Misa nodded abruptly, with those silvery eyes wide open.

"Nothing to be afraid of. We'll make sure nothing will happen to ya" Goofy said in an attempt of calming the young girl down.

Misa moved her horrified glance over to Goofy and slowly nodded, as if saying "Okay, you can start this thing now".

Suddenly Donald interrupted everything by calling "Let's go!" and by simply shoving a switch they were of in a horrible speed.

Misa clenched to Sora's chair and was actually pretty calm until they entered a warp hole, then she gave a loud scream.

--

They finally landed in Disney castle, the place looked exactly the same way as it had done two years ago, it seamed nothing had changed at all. Even Chip and Dale seamed to be standing on the same spot as always when the four of them arrived.

The door opened, and surprisingly Misa was the first to run out of the ship.

"Oh dear god, get out of my way before I puke at the duck" she said and gave a gulping sound in the back of her throat.

Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at her in a strange way, especially Donald after being referred to as "the duck".

Misa bent over the second she was out of the Gummi ship, as if she was about to actually throw up. She held her hands on her knees and took deep breaths.

"Uhm, you okay Misa?" Goofy asked her.

She looked up, even if her eyes were barely visible behind her long bangs, and tried to smile.

"Yeah...just feeling a little sick" she said, moved her hand through her hair to get it out of the way and got back up.

Sora noticed how he had been staring at her the whole time.

He didn't know why, he didn't like her. Not in the same way as he liked Kairi, or even Riku. Maybe he had just spaced out for a second, and when he came back he was just quite accidentally looking at her. Or perhaps there was something more to it?

No, it couldn't be. Of all people in the world Misa was the girl he felt the least attracted to. Why did he even bother to think of this?

"Sora! Finally you're here!" a familiar voice suddenly called at them making Sora snap out of his annoying thoughts.

He looked up at the voice's owner and his face cracked into a big smile

"Your majesty!" he said loudly before running over to the king to give him a hug, but he changed his mind when he was halfway and decided to give a bow instead.

The little king giggled and looked at the strange group before him.

"Well done Donald and Goofy" He said cheerfully "you've succeeded in completing your task"

It was about then that the King turned his attention towards the girl who was with them. He looked at her for a while, in a way it seamed like he was judging her.

Misa twirled one of her long locks of hair around her one of her white fingers, her eyes invisible behind her bangs, but she did look back.

She had never seen a figure like this one, she wasn't really used to Donald and Goofy yet either, however she kept quiet.

"So, you must be the one" The king said and headed towards her.

The other three observed the whole scene as it occurred.

"You majesty..." The silver haired girl replied, bowing her head to show respect.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you miss...?" King Mickey waited for her name, but before she could answer for herself Goofy had already done it.

"Her name is Misa, your Majesty"

The king nodded then turned away from her and looked at the other three.

"You must all come with me. I have important information to give you"


	5. Chapter 4: who are they?

Okay, just a little info up here. This was so much easier with the old Quizilla (the site which is now an ass!), because I could edit such info things in every chapter.

I just want to inform everyone that this is NOT a love story between the Misa girl and Sora. Just thought people wanted to know that... well that's it for now!

And, I'll add some extra info in the previous chapters too… God, I feel stupid…

Just, please enjoy the story from now on. Thank you.

--

Rain... there was always rain outside...  
It wasn't called the land of eternal rain for nothing, for the heavens wept in their eternal sorrow over a land long ago abandoned.  
Between the tall dark mountains, the mountains that stretched as high as they were to comfort the weeping sky, laid the ghostly city of Burmecia.  
No living creature had been there for decades, the dragons had long ago died without their masters and the city that once housed the great legendary paladins was now in ruin. Everything except the glorious castle, which still stood tall, casting its shadow over the houses that were all levelled with the earth.  
Within its solid walls of stone, there was now finally... life.

Almost two years had passed since the first creature dressed completely in black had stepped inside the ancient building, and now the castle was once more lively.  
Its inhabitants looked like humans, some of them more or less than the other, but they all carried a secret. Every single one of them lacked something utterly important...  
they had no heart.

In the highest tower, there was always light.  
Even after nightfall when all of the so-called "nobodies" had went off to sleep, there was light there.  
In that tower there lived a woman, their leader, and her only name was "Empress".

The royal room, high up there in the highest tower, was lit up by a single candle.  
The white little candle burned with a dying flame that flickered in the wind from the open window. Bravely the weak flame fought the brutal wind, desperately wanting to extend its lifetime.  
Suddenly, when all hope seemed to have faded and the flame was about to give up, the tip of another candle touched it, moving the flame to a new home.  
"Bravely fought, my dear..." said a woman's voice as graceful fingers placed the candle down in another candlestick.

The woman moved away from the candle, sliding towards the window, it barely looked like her feet touched the ground.  
She was swept in elegant dark clothing, a long dress that covered all of her legs, which made her feet invisible, and the fabric lay gracefully around her female curves making her confidence obvious.  
Her blonde hair fell over her bare white shoulders and down along her curved spine, and in the wind from the open window her whole figure seemed almost like the one of a goddess.  
The woman sat down at the windowsill and threw her golden glance out at the rainy sky. Her eyes were like candles, like flames that flickered in the wind and fought to extend their given time.  
She stared out of the window like that for a long time, but she never seemed to look at anything in particular.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, but the woman didn't even turn her glance at the interrupting sound.  
"My empress?" She heard the dark voice of a man call at her from outside and gave a slight sigh.  
"Come in most beloved..." she said silently, and the door opened.  
In stepped a tall man dressed completely in black.  
His skin was dark, and his hair was white and long, falling down along his back.  
"My dearest Xemnas..." Empress said as she turned her glance away from the window and over to Xemnas, the man who was once the superior of Organization XIII.

"What is it that you want now?" her voice came as a seductive purr, but Xemnas didn't seem to even react.  
"I was just informed that 'the others' are..." the former superior wasn't allowed to finish his sentence before the Empress interrupted him.  
"Isn't it odd, my Xemnas... how rain is born from the heavens only to die, smashed to the earth, seconds later..." she had moved her golden glance out of the window again, observing the dark sky above her.  
"My empress, please listen" Xemnas replied, slightly annoyed with the empress' indifference towards him.  
Before he could continue, Empress turned around and arose from her sitting position in the windowsill.  
"I already know that, my beloved" she said, her voice as seductive as before.  
She moved towards a standing mirror beside the bed.  
Xemnas observed her as she moved, as she gracefully swept across the floor and as she stopped in front of the mirror meeting her own reflection.  
"So she told me..." as the four words left the Empress' red-painted lips she stretched out a slender arm and brushed black nails against the mirror's reflecting surface.  
Her delicate painted lips curved into a smirk, exposing fangs that were usually hidden.

"And now, we must make our first move"

(extra points to everyone who knows the city of Burmecia xP)

--

The king had led them into a small room that somehow resembled an office.  
He didn't say a word but went directly to searching through the drawers of a desk that stood in one end of the room, obviously looking for something.  
Misa was the last to enter through the door, right behind Goofy, and she immediately closed it behind her and took position in front of it.

"You may already know about an organization called 'the others', or what Sora?" the king asked and looked up from one of the drawers.  
Sora looked at him for a while before he nodded.  
"Yeah, sort of" he replied and scratched the back of his head.  
The king went back to looking through the drawers.  
"Good, very good" he said, not looking at any of them.

Misa had moved from the door to behind Donald, she twirled a long lock of hair around her index finger and underneath her bangs she was looking at the little king, just like the rest of the group.  
Sora moved his glance towards the girl a few times; he didn't know why though, and in fact he didn't care.  
"Ah, here it is" The king suddenly said and pulled a strange looking remote control out of a drawer.  
Sora looked at it curiously, wondering what it might be able to do, and so did everyone else.

"We do not know much about 'the others' ourselves, but we can at least tell you this" with this the little king pushed a button on the strange remote, and a figure appeared in the opposite end of the room.  
Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped backwards in surprise, but shortly understood that it was just a hologram.  
The figure was dressed in black, the exact same uniform that Sora had seen the young girl, Yoru, wear a few days earlier. This figure however, seemed to be male.  
"The others' is a group of nobodies much similar to the group you knew as Organization XIII," The king said, pushing another button, which made the hologram of an even more familiar figure appear beside the first one.  
This figure was dressed in the uniform of Organization XIII, a uniform that Sora, Donald and Goofy never thought they would have to see again.  
"However, they do not share the same goal, and they have different leaders" the king continued.

Sora turned around and faced the little king, who stood at the desk.  
"Wait a minute! You mean-" he started out and looked at the holograms again "you mean organization XIII is back as well?"  
King Mickey nodded slightly.  
"In a way, but they are not Organization XIII anymore" he answered.  
Sora turned his glance towards the king again.  
"Then what are they?" he asked, "If you mean we went through all of that the last time just to have to beat them all up again..." obviously he didnt know how to finish.  
The king jumped down from the desk and walked over to where the other four were standing.

"We don't know much, as I already told you. We dont even know if they're the same members as before" he said "but figures in that exact uniform have been seen all over the different worlds, so we have reason to believe that the Organization has been resurrected somehow"  
Misa had just observed the holograms during the whole conversation, from the 'other' member, to the 'organization' member.  
She seemed distant, as if she was thinking of something completely different.

"Let's go back to 'the others" The king said and removed the hologram of the 'organization' member.  
Sora went back to looking at the hologram, even though he was still thinking of organization XIII.  
"We don't know how many they are, neither do we know who leads them or what they want," he said.  
Sora sighed, obviously there wasn't much information to gain, and so he started to doubt the importance of all of this.  
"But they are dangerous. They do not use heartless to collect hearts, nor do they control other nobodies. They do everything themselves"  
Holograms of both Heartless and weaker nobodies appeared as the king spoke.

"The others' are already creating fear and chaos in some of the worlds, and since they're all very powerful, it's hard for normal humans to oppose them or protect themselves against them" the holograms disappeared before the 'organization' member's hologram reappeared again.  
"The former Organization XIII has on the other hand done nothing yet. It's as if they are waiting for their opportunity to strike" with this, the last hologram disappeared again.

Sora looked at the king, who had moved back to the desk to put the strange remote control back into it's drawer.  
"What do you want us to do about this, your majesty?" he asked and put his arms behind his head, in his usual manner.  
"We're probably off to another adventure," Goofy said, somewhat happily.  
King Mickey smiled at them all,  
"That's right Goofy" he said "I want you to find out more, and defeat them once and for all".  
Sora stroked a victory pose and grinned happily.  
"All right! We're off to kick some Nobody-butt!" he said, obviously ready for another grand adventure.  
His other two friends both did their victory poses as well; Misa however was still staring at the wall where the holograms had been.  
"You will take Jiminy with you. He'll report back whatever you manage to find out" the king continued, "He'll wait for you in the Gummi ship whenever you're ready to leave"  
"Let's leave right now!" Donald said and was about to run out when Sora stopped him  
"Wait a sec!" He said, making the duck stop in his tracks "I promised Kairi to return as soon as I had spoken to the king".  
Donald mumbled something none of them could hear, and crossed his arms while looking at Sora grumpily.  
"Aw, come on Donald!" Sora said, "It wont take long. Just a quick visit to Destiny Island and were off again!" the cheerful keybearer tried his best to convince his friend, but it was no use.  
"It'll take us a long time to get there! Even if a warp hole seems quick, time flies everywhere else!" Donald said, stubborn as he was "And by the time weve gotten there it'll already be past Sora's bedtime!"  
"Donald!" the King said interrupting the argument, and all eyes, except for Misa's, were turned to him.  
"Go back to destiny Islands now. You can leave at sunrise tomorrow, if time is a huge problem for you"  
Donald jumped and waved both his hands in front of him, in an attempt to cover up what he just said.  
"No-no-no! It's no problem at all!" He said, "I just wanted to leave as soon as possible"  
King Mickey, Sora and Goofy all laughed at their friend, who was about to lose his temper again.  
"It's alright" the king said, smiling at all of them "But I wanted to talk to Misa before you left"

Everyone turned their attention to the girl, who was still staring at the wall where the holograms had been.  
She didn't seem to notice, and once more her eyes seemed to lack pupils.  
"Misa?" Goofy asked, trying to get the girl's attention, but she didn't react.  
Sora went over to her and lightly shook her shoulder,  
"Misa?" He said, but there was still no response.  
"Misa!" he shook her shoulder more violently and the girl's completely silver eyes turned their glance to him.  
"White..." she whispered, making Sora let go of her.  
"What?" he asked, confused at her strange behaviour, and the fact that the word had nothing to do with... well, anything at the moment.  
"Everything is white... always..." as she spoke her pupils returned, and she looked at the group in front of her with confusion.

"W-what?" she asked, "Do I have something funny in my face?"  
Everyone else stared at her strangely.  
"You just said something was always white" Goofy explained to her.  
She looked at him, obviously confused.  
"No, I didn't" she replied and looked at the rest "Did I?"  
Both Sora and Donald nodded.  
The silver haired girl looked at her hands, and then put her right hand to her forehead rubbing her palm against it.  
"I...I really can't recall..." she whispered.  
King Mickey walked away from the desk and over to where Misa stood.  
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll remember eventually" he said and smiled at her.  
Misa couldn't help but smile back; the king was so cheerful it was almost impossible not to be happy around him.  
"Misa, I have some questions I want to ask you" he suddenly said "Is that alright?"  
The girl nodded, she couldn't see how some simple questions could possibly hurt.

"First off, do you remember where you come from?" he asked.  
Everyone looked at Misa now; Sora had great interest in the answer considering he had wanted to know from the moment he first saw her in Destiny Islands.  
Misa twirled a lock of hair around her index finger again.  
"I... I dont remember" she answered silently.  
Sora gave a sigh in disappointment, but continued to pay attention.  
"What can you remember?" King Mickey asked, trying to get something about Misas origin out of her.  
She closed her eyes and stopped twirling her hair; she was probably trying her best to remember anything.

"There is only..." she started making Sora almost hold his breath, and making Donald think she would say 'white' again.  
"Only Destiny Islands..." She said "That... and rain"  
It wasn't much, and again she left Sora disappointed with the answer.  
"Also..." she continued, drawing everyones attention closer to her again "there are... sky-blue eyes"  
Before Sora could sigh, the king continued.  
"Very well, you remember something at least" he said and smiled at her.  
"Now... from what I've heard I can see that it's still no use asking you my other questions"  
Misa bowed her head, as if saying she was sorry, and immediately started twirling a lock of hair around her finger again.

King Mickey turned to the rest of the small group.  
"Thats all the information I could give you" he said, "Now, you better get going"  
Sora stroked a victory pose again and grinned happily.  
"Then what are we waiting for guys?" he said, eager to start a new adventure,  
"Let's go!"

--

They were all seated in the Gummi ship again, heading for Destiny Islands.  
Jiminy was already writing notes in his journal, Donald kept his eyes on the "road", Goofy was just... goofing around like always, and Sora was actually talking to Misa, or more like rambling on about how cool it would be to go on a new adventure, to the only person who was willing to listen.  
Misa sat on the floor, since this ride was much calmer than the previous, and she wasn't at all nervous this time.  
"Sora..?" Misa suddenly said, interrupting Sora in the middle of his rant.  
"Huh? What?" Sora replied looking down at her from his seat.  
"Can you tell me... about your adventures?" she asked, her silver glance aimed directly at Sora's blue eyes.  
The keybearer blinked, and then his face cracked into a happy grin.  
"Honestly? Do you want to hear about it?" he said happily.  
Misa nodded "very much..." she replied silently and tried to smile back.  
"Alright!" Sora said, and proudly started to tell her about his adventures.  
The girl listened carefully, and with great interest to everything he said, she was even too busy listening to Sora's story, to even notice it when they went through the warp hole.

When they landed on Destiny Islands shortly after, Sora hadn't gotten longer with his story than to when they first visited Wonderland.  
Misa and Sora went out of the Gummi ship, leaving Donald and Goofy behind because they had agreed to do so.  
It was already dusk, and in many of the houses the lights were already out.  
"I'm gonna go talk to Kairi again" Sora suddenly said when he and Misa had been walking for a while.  
"Okay..." Misa replied, not looking at him.  
"Go home and get some sleep Misa" he continued "and then meet us in the Gummi ship tomorrow, alright?"  
The silver haired girl nodded, still not looking at him.  
"Then I'll tell you more about my adventure, and well go see another new world" of some reason, it seemed like Sora wanted to excite Misa, or at least make her smile, but it was no use.  
"I'm looking forward to that Sora..." she replied distantly "Goodnight..."  
Sora didn't know what more to say; neither did he know why he wanted to say more or why he wanted to talk to Misa in particular.  
"Goodnight Misa" he just replied and looked at the girl as she took a left turn and was gone.

Sora noticed he was already close to Kairi's house, and now he hurried up a little.  
He knocked at the door as soon as he got there, and waited impatiently for his childhood friend to answer it.  
Soon he could hear running footsteps from behind the door, something that sounded like a tumble, and shortly after that someone slamming their hands onto the door-handle and the door opened.  
"Sora!" The young redhead shouted happily as she saw him.  
"Hi Kairi" Sora replied and grinned in his usual manner "I told you I'd return, right?"  
Kairi giggled and smiled back at him.  
"I knew you would return this time" She said joyfully.

They stood like that, just smiling at each other for several minutes; no words were needed in this moment.  
"You should stop doubting me" Sora suddenly said "You see, I always keep my promises"  
Kairi giggled again.  
"I know Sora" she said "I know I can trust you"  
Sora scratched the back of his head, realizing he didn't know what more to say, and Kairi just stood there, looking at him in exactly the same way as she had always done, waiting for him to speak.  
"uhm..." He started "so, tomorrow I'll start searching for Riku again"  
Kairi looked down at the mentioning of Riku's name, the subject seemed to sadden her a bit.  
"I'm sure you'll find him Sora" she said as she looked up at her friend again.  
"Yeah... we'll leave at dawn, so..." Sora didn't know how to continue, it was sad to leave Kairi behind again, but after all it was for her own safety.

"It's okay Sora" she said, and put on her usual smile again, the smile she always used to cover up other unwanted emotions.  
"I know you'll come back. And when you do, Im sure you'll have Riku with you too"  
Sora nodded, and gently placed a hand at the redheaded girl's shoulder.  
"I promise I'll return with him" he assured her and grinned cheerfully again, "dont you worry about that for a moment, Kairi"  
The girl smiled happily at him.  
"I wont" she replied and gave a slight giggle, "Now you should head back home and get some sleep, before I kick your ass all the way back there!"  
Both of them started to laugh, and Sora showed his obedience by giving her the reply "Yes ma'am!" before he got on his way.  
When Sora had almost got passed the gate which led in to Kairi's little garden, she called after him, making him look at her again.  
"Sora! You better remember this!" she started "If you don't come back, I will hunt you down and I will kick the living shit out of you!"  
Sora laughed and put his hand to his heart,  
"It's a promise! I'll never forget!"

Then he headed home, leaving Kairi with a smile at her lips and with a heart full of hope.

As soon as he got home, he threw himself onto the bed and stared up in the roof.  
Tomorrow... tomorrow was the first day of a new grand adventure.  
He wondered where they would head first, who they would meet there.  
Thought about old friends and worlds he had saved before, with their help of course.  
Then, all of a sudden as his thoughts again drifted to Riku and Roxas, he fell asleep.

--

-With Misa-

Misa opened her eyes, finding herself surrounded by white trees that seemed to glow against the dark sky above her.  
She sat up; feeling how the ground was so soft, yet cold, looking at the falling white patterns which came from the sky.  
Where was she? She had never seen this place before, but yet it was so familiar...  
Slowly she got up to her feet and looked around, there was only white trees, nothing more beside white trees and the darkness.  
"Hello?" she called out, "anybody there?"...  
There was no answer.  
She asked again, more loudly this time, but there was still no answer.  
She looked around again, desperately trying to find life in this place, this place witch held such a familiar scent, this place full of feelings she couldn't remember to ever have felt  
"Anyone...?" she whispered, closing her eyes, listening...  
There was only silence there, but the silence was also familiar to her, it was a comforting and pleasant silence.  
She sat down again; sucking in the feelings that the place gave her, only gentle and good feelings...  
the place was indeed beautiful  
Then her heart suddenly jumped and she opened her eyes once more, sat up and looked around.  
She had heard nothing, but something felt so strange.  
"who's there?" she asked, moving silvery strains of hair away from her eyes.  
Nothing...  
There was no response...

She sat silently on the white ground, waiting for something to happen.  
Suddenly she saw a figure moving between the white trees, a figure all dressed in white.  
The silver haired girl got up to her feet and started running towards the mysterious figure.  
"Wait!"  
The figure didnt react.  
"Please! I just want to talk to you!"...  
There was still no response.  
She was getting closer, close enough to see that the figure was human, a human girl dressed in a white long dress, and with long blonde hair flowing gracefully behind her.  
Misa's heart did a jump again, and she felt strangely nervous as she approached the mysterious girl in front of her.  
Then suddenly, the girl stopped, making Misa stop as well out of pure surprise.  
"So you came..." the girl said, still with her back to Misa.  
Her voice, it was also so familiar, like an angel's sweet voice that resounded in Misas mind, the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

"You returned to the white gardens..." she held out a slender arm, holding a pen between her fingers, a pen with red ink dripping from it, leaving small traces of the drops on the white ground.

The white gardens... so that's what this place was called.  
Misa couldn't manage to get out a single word, she tried to speak but there were no words.  
"You don't have to speak..." the girl in front of her continued and slowly turned around, facing Misa, who fell to the ground in shock.  
Where Misa had expected it to be a face, there was nothing!  
No eyes, no mouth, not even a nose...  
The silver haired girl wanted to scream, but even if she opened her mouth there was no sound.

"You've forgotten me..." said the voice, which still came from the other girl.  
"That is why you can not see it..."  
The girl moved her graceful hand up to her empty face and placed the tip of the red-inked pen where her mouth should have been.  
Misa supported herself on her elbows, shivering on the ground.  
There was nothing ugly about the girl in front of her, but the emptiness... it was the emptiness that frightened her.  
Because something inside of her told her that there was something beyond beauty that usually resided where the emptiness now was.  
Something seraphic and indescribable...

"Give me my first letter... and I will give you this part of me" the voice said silently as the girl sat down in front of her.  
Misa didn't know what she meant, nor did she know what to say or how to say it, it was as if she had forgotten everything... how to speak, how to walk, even how to think...  
The girl in front of her didn't move, the pen still pointing at the place where her mouth should have been, steady and immovable.  
Neither of them said a word, neither of them moved, and Misa didnt look away from the girls empty face even once.

Slowly, swimming inside of the ocean that was Misa's mind, a tiny sound came lurking, a tiny letter that wanted to get out, and pass Misa's delicate pink lips.  
"N..." was the only sound that left her, and immediately the girl in front of her started to draw.  
With red ink she drew on her fair skin, first an upper lip, then the lower, and so her mouth was placed.  
Shortly after that the drawn lips parted, and took in her first breath of air, and drawn lips suddenly became real lips.  
Beautifully curved lips, pink like the blooming sakura-flower, the ends slightly pointing up into a lovely smile.

"Correct" the girl said, for the first time moving her lips as she spoke.  
Misa couldn't help but stare at the new feature in the once completely empty face, those beautiful pink lips that spoke to her with the voice of a goddess.  
The girl moved her elegant left hand over Misa's cheek, caressing it, gently like if she was touching porcelain.  
The silver haired girl closed her eyes at the sensation, felt how her heartbeat got faster, and the strange feeling inside of her got even stronger.  
"Tomorrow night..." the girl whispered "when tomorrow night comes... I want you to tell me what 'N' stands for..."  
Misa opened her eyes again, seeing how the girl had started to fade.  
"We'll meet again... right here..." the girl's lips curved into an angelic smile once more, and as Misa tried to reach out and touch her...

She woke up.


	6. Chapter 5: welcome to wonderland!

Misa sat up in bed, panting heavily and covered in sweat.  
She looked around, dug her nails into her covers, trying to remember what she was looking for.  
She had been dreaming.  
However, she couldn't remember what she had dreamt, she couldn't remember what she was now terrified of, or what caused her heart to beat so rapidly.

There was nothing in her room to remind her, she didn't know what she was looking for when she got out of bed and opened her closet, but she searched behind every piece of clothing, under every pair of pants and every pair of shoes, but there was nothing. Nothing that could remind her of that something she so desperately wanted to remember.

She sighed heavily as she dropped herself onto the bed again, arms outstretched over her head, staring at the cold emotionless roof.  
Something... there was something really important that she needed to remember.  
It was just that, she had completely forgotten it.  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, searching through her mind for the answer she was looking for, but there was nothing.  
It was so strange, she never really forgot things... well, at least she hadn't forgotten anything since she came to Destiny Islands. Every single moment of her stay there was burnt into her memory, down to every single detail.

She rolled over at her side and threw a glance at the alarm clock that stood on her bedside table. It was a cute little old-fashioned alarm clock, none of that digital bullshit.  
For a while she studied the two timers, one was pointing between XII and I, and the other was pointing at VIII.  
Now, what did those letters mean again?  
X was ten, if she was correct, then XII must be twelve! And V was five, so VIII was 5+3, which was eight!  
She jumped out of bed as she realized what time it was.  
They had decided to meet at dawn, which was, according to her, around six or seven o'clock.

In a hurry, she put on some clothes and didn't bother to brush her hair or anything.  
She threw a bag over her shoulder, she had packed it with stuff she thought was important before she went to bed the day before, and she really didn't want to forget anything else now.  
She hurried out of her bedroom, slammed the door behind her, ran through the small living room, and headed for the door that led out of her little apartment.  
With shaky hands she tried to lock the door behind her, but after about 15 seconds she found it useless and threw the keys at the hard stone floor.  
"Why would I need to lock the door anyway? It's not like I'm coming back" she said to herself, and then hurried towards the staircase, which led down to the first- and ground floor.  
She jumped over several steps, trying her best to get out of the apartment building as fast as possible.  
One floor was behind her, one left and then she would be out.  
She almost flew down the last staircase, her hands on the banister to prevent herself from tripping. One last step and she was on the ground floor!  
Now, the only thing remaining was to run out the front door and head for the gummi ship. She hurried up, headed for the door, was just about to open it and finally get out in freedom, and then... she was on her butt at the floor.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I didn't see you there!" A sort of familiar male voice said above her.  
She rubbed her hand at her forehead, the part of her that had probably bumped into the other person first, because damn, her forehead hurt!  
"Ouch.. no... it's okay" she replied.  
The boy offered his hand; she could see it under her long silver bangs.  
"Here. Let me help you up" he said.  
Misa lifted her glance, and brushed away her hair from her silvery eyes.  
She knew this boy. It was the blonde guy with the weird monkey tail who resided in apartment 237, just two apartments away from hers.  
Zidane somebody-or-other  
"Uh... thanks" she said silently and grabbed the boys hand, and was then yanked up from the floor very quickly.

"Oh, you're that pretty girl who lives at my floor" he suddenly said, as she threw her long hair behind her back again.  
"Excuse me..?" she asked silently, she wasn't at all used to being called anything but weird, 'pretty' was a description of her that she never had heard before.  
Zidane grinned and put his hands behind his head.  
"I've been looking at you for a while, but you never talk to me" he said cheerfully.  
Misa blinked, she had noticed him, but she had no interest in boys or men whatsoever, and everyone knew this guy was a big man-slut.  
She twirled a silver lock of hair around her pale index finger.  
"I've never had the need to..." she answered and looked down.  
"Oh? You have a boyfriend already?" he asked, obviously not used to rejection.  
Misa looked at him through her long silver bangs, this guy was starting to get annoying, he was asking about private matters and besides, he was in the way.  
"I have no interest in you... nor anyone of your gender or my own..." she said silently and walked over at his side.  
"Now, if you will excuse me... I'm already late..."  
"Late for what?" Zidane asked, not moving away from the front door.  
Misa gave an annoyed sound in the back of her throat and mumbled something about stupid monkey brained man-whores.  
"Please, you're in the way..." she said and waved a lock of silvery hair away from her eyes again "And if you would just please move, I may consider your offer..."  
Zidanes face cracked into a self-satisfied grin and he took a step away from the door.  
"It's a deal then," he said before Misa pushed him out of the way and rushed out of the building.  
"Hey! You better not forget!" He shouted after her, but she didn't really pay attention to him, the only thing she thought of was to get to the Gummi ship as fast as possible.

--

"What took you so long, slowpoke?" Sora asked, with that usual grin on his face when Misa finally arrived at the place they had decided to meet.  
She supported herself on her knees, trying to catch her breath.  
"I'm sorry... really sorry..." she managed to say between her rapid intakes of air.  
"I was just about to go and check if you were alive" Sora said, laughing to cover up the fact that he had no idea where she lived.  
Misa looked up at him through her silver bangs.  
"As I said... really sorry..." she said and slowly lifted her body to full height again, throwing her long silver locks behind her back in one long graceful move.  
Every single strain of her hair glistened in the light from the morning-sun, like polished silver that had always been treated with great and loving care.  
She was really one outstanding piece of work, though that thought really didn't come to Soras mind, since all he was thinking about now was getting in the gummi ship and fly away, the sooner the better. Besides, the girl was of no greater interest to him.

"Never mind. Lets board the Gummi ship already" He said cheerfully "And I'll tell you more about wonderland!"

--

They were all seated in the gummi ship at their usual places, which meant Misa sat on the floor close to Sora's chair.  
Donald was pushing some random buttons, Goofy had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly from his seat, Jiminy was writing in his journal as usual, and Sora was rambling about his adventures in wonderland.  
Misa was listening to him with great interest, to her, this world he was talking about seemed very interesting and bizarre, like a world that could only exist in your wildest imagination, and a place where you could only get to in your dreams.  
"And then this strange purple cat popped out of nowhere again, and he grinned like a..." Sora told his story with great passion, waving his arms around and almost falling off the chair on occasions "But you see, Alice wasn't anywhere there either! And we were all 'nooo!' and then we had to..."  
And Misa couldn't take her eyes off him as he spoke.

All of a sudden Sora's story was interrupted.  
"Sora! Come take a look at this" Donald said, making Sora turn around in his chair to see what his funny friend was talking about.  
"What's up?" he asked, but he couldn't really see anything weird.  
"I can't find the radiant garden anywhere!" Donald said pointing both at a digital map and the window, "And now we've been driving around for more than 15 minutes!" Sora looked at the map, and Donald was right, the Radiant Garden was nowhere to be found.  
"Maybe it's not here yet," he suggested, shrugging his shoulders.  
"It could be that we have to go through another path first"

Donald scratched his head, most probably trying to find a solution to the little problem they had.  
"What about that other town?" Misa suddenly asked "Traverse or something..."  
"No, we haven't been there for ages!" Donald replied and waved Misa's little suggestion away "I don't even think it's still there  
Goofy was still sleeping in his chair, and nobody really bothered to wake him up, since he wouldn't be much help anyway.  
"Perhaps we could go through there?" Sora suddenly suggested pointing at a spot on the map where he thought the Radiant Garden had been before.  
Donald looked at where Sora's finger was pointing and nodded in agreement.  
"That seems reasonable enough" he said and started to push some buttons again.  
"We'll try that".

--

Less than five minutes later they were already facing another world.  
"Well, thats NOT the Radiant Garden" Donald said in a pretty irritated manner.  
Goofy had finally waked up, and was staring out of the window just like the other four.  
"Isn't that..?" he started, but was interrupted by Sora shouting  
"Wonderland!" Sora was bending over the control board as far as he could get, almost crushing his nose against the window.  
"Holy shit! It really is!"  
Misa looked at the strange world in front of her, it was so green and pink, in a way it almost looked like a strangely patterned strawberry.

"Oh, can't we land there? Please Donald!" Sora pleaded, he was now on his knees on the floor, folding his hands as if he was praying.  
"No! We have to find the Radiant Garden!" Donald replied as stubborn as always.  
"Radiant Garden can wait!" Sora countered and as a last resort put up his puppy dog face "Pleeeeaase"  
Unfortunately for Sora, Puppy dog eyes had no effect on Donald whatsoever.  
"No! Were not landing in that crazy place!"  
"Come on Donald, don't be so suborn" Goofy said, trying to convince Donald to land the Gummi ship by himself, since he didn't want a repetition of the Deep Jungle incident.  
"Um... that's 'stubborn', Goofy," Misa corrected, taking Donald's usual part.

"Come on Donald! You're the only one who doesn't want to!" said Sora, still with those pleading eyes.  
"Well, I'M the one in charge of the ship!" Donald asserted and crossed his arms to look more stubborn than before.  
"You stupid boring duck!" Sora said grumpily "You're being unfair to Misa too! She really wants to see Wonderland!"  
Misa couldn't remember to ever have said something like that, but she really wouldn't mind seeing wonderland.  
"Please Donald, I promise we wont stay for a long time" Sora pleaded again, not at all willing to give up.  
"ALRIGHT! Just shut up you stupid nut!" Donald yelled and slammed his hand on the landing button.

--

Before they knew it they were falling down a strange hole, actually it looked more like a very tall room with paintings on the walls and floating furniture all over the place.  
Donald sat on the top of a cupboard, looking as grumpy as before, he wasn't too excited about this it seemed.  
Goofy had seated himself in a rocking chair and seemed to be quite comfortable, since he was almost falling asleep again.  
"For how long will we keep falling?" Misa suddenly asked, she was sort of sitting in midair with her legs crossed, her elbows supported on her knees and her hands underneath her chin.  
Sora was floating forth and back, changing from swimming to flying movements, obviously he was having a whole lot of fun.  
"Till we reach the floor of course," he answered.  
Misa looked down, seeing the ground far down there.  
They would keep falling for a while it seemed.

It took almost five minutes before they were done falling.  
Everyone landed steadily on their feet, except from Goofy who had fallen asleep and therefore fell to the floor with his back first, which made him wake up.  
The silver haired girl steadied herself on her feet as they finally landed on the floor.  
This place was even crazier than she had imagined it, but she didn't mind at all, in fact she already liked this world.  
"Awesome!" Sora shouted excitingly and jumped up and down like a kid who had just been promised a lollipop by his mother.  
"Didn't think we'd end up here again..." Donald said, he was obviously the only one who didn't really like wonderland.

Suddenly, while Sora was still busy being strangely happy, a white rabbit ran past them in a real hurry "Oh dear! I'm late!" it said checking it's pocket watch.  
"Isn't that?" Misa started, remembering this part of Sora's story.  
"It's the white rabbit" said Goofy, who had just got up from the floor.  
"Wait!" Sora shouted and ran after it, and the other three followed him.  
Misa couldn't really see why they were following a rabbit, but she decided that the other guys probably knew better than her what to do in this place.  
They followed the rabbit until it disappeared through a huge door.  
"Not again" Donald sighed.  
Sora had already opened the door, revealing a smaller door, another door and even more doors after that, until the whole group had to crawl through the last door on their hands and knees.

"Now, that was fun right?" Sora said happily, while the rest of the small group looked at him strangely.

"Where are we now?" Goofy suddenly asked, turning the groups attention to the surroundings.  
They seemed to be in the middle of a great forest, everything was really huge, from the flowers to the mushrooms and the nuts that had fallen from the gigantic trees.  
"Well it's not the Queens castle, fortunately" Sora replied and looked around.  
To Misa, the place seemed to match Sora's description of the forest where he had searched for evidence to prove Alices innocence the last time he had been there.  
"Let's explore this place!" Sora shouted eagerly, and ran of in a hurry, making the rest of the group follow him.  
"Sora, you twit! Get back here!" Donald yelled after him, but Sora didn't listen.  
They kept running after him for a while, before he suddenly stopped.  
"Sora? What's wrong?" Misa asked, but he hushed on her.  
"There's someone here" he said, the keyblade suddenly appearing in his hands.  
Misa thought it would be smart of her to summon her own blade, and soon it appeared in her hands surrounded by green numbers.

"Oh no, oh no! What have we here, sister?" they suddenly heard a voice say from somewhere above them. Before they could react to the first sound, another voice replied to it "Not know I do, sister" it said, this one sounded slightly younger.  
The small group listened, waiting for the voices to speak again, but the air was now shrouded in complete silence once more.

"What was that?" Donald asked, wand at the ready, prepared to blast anyone who suddenly showed up with whatever magic spell he came up with first.  
"Sora..?" Misa looked up at Sora from behind her silvery bangs, she had never thought they would encounter anything dangerous already.  
"I have no idea" Sora answered, clenching his hands on his keyblade, whoever the voices belonged to, he was ready to encounter them and kick their sorry asses out of wonderland.  
"I think it is that keyblade wielder" said the first and slightly darker voice, followed by a low chuckle that sounded more like a taunt than anything else.  
"That keyblade wielder I think it is, indeed" repeated the second voice, trying to sound just like the first one.  
There were chuckles coming from everywhere around the little group, taunting chuckles that almost freaked them all out.  
"Whose there!?" Sora yelled at the disembodied voices, his keyblade still at the ready, prepared to beat the living shit out of whoever they were  
"Show yourselves!"  
"Oh my... oh my!" The darker voice shouted, on the brink of hysterical laughter by the sound of it "The keybearer is trying to be a hero!"  
"Oh my!" The second voice replied, in a childish imitation of the first one.  
"Show your ugly faces!" Donald yelled unable to hold back his temper.  
Then there was silence again.  
The silence was even more frightening than the voices, the little group couldn't know what was going on, whether or not the disembodied voices were planning an attack or something even worse.

"Shall we show ourselves, sister?" The darker voice suddenly asked the other one.  
"Show ourselves we shall!" the childish voice replied happily.  
Either, that person was very young, or just plain stupid.  
The small group gathered as best as they could, each of them facing in a different direction, ready for whatever they were going to meet.  
Misa's hands clenched around her sword, this was for real, now she was going to face a real enemy, and she would have to fight them.  
She didn't know how to handle this blade; she couldn't even remember what she had done the first time, so how was she going to be of any use against someone who was probably much stronger than her?

"May we introduce to you!" the darker voice said "For the first time ever on a stage in wonderland!"  
There were strange sounds from the trees, sounds that seemed to be coming from everywhere around them.  
Louder and louder, closer and closer and then suddenly, out from the safety of the shadows of the trees jumped two figures.  
Both of them did about two somersaults before they landed on the ground, revealing their real appearance.

"The juggler twins!"

The whole group stared at the two figures wide eyed.  
Both of them were girls at the exact same height. They had long, wild and curly white hair, with the exception of red stripes in the hair of the girl to the right, and blue stripes in the other ones hair.  
Both of them wore jester hats in the same colour as the stripes of their hair, and the clothes were also in that colour.  
The girl who wore red had a dress with an incredibly lot of laces on the lower back part, the lower front was almost completely flat.  
Her upper part was a red corset laced with yellow and red striped ribbons, and underneath that she had a short-sleeved white shirt with big puff sleeves.  
She also wore red and white striped tights, and a pair of red shoes that really looked like they belonged to a doll.  
Both of the girls wore a lot of makeup.  
The red girl did of course wear red makeup. The makeup around her eyes was shaped as small, thick spikes, almost to resemble thick eyelashes. Her lips were painted blood red, and on her cheeks there was drawn a heart and a diamond.

The other girl, who wore dark blue, was dressed in more masculine clothing.  
She had a jacket with white frills hanging out of the sleeves that almost completely covered her fingers. Over the jacket she wore a white corset, decorated with blue laces and laced together with black ribbons.  
The bottom of the jacket was in spikes, like a jester's costume, and on the end of every spike there was a bell.  
Her pants were decorated with white laces along the sides, and she wore a pair of knee-high boots, which more than anything else resembled the boots of a hard rock musician.  
Her makeup was in a very dark shade of blue, and her face was also painted white.  
The makeup around her eyes was shaped as one long spike that went from the top of her eyebrow, to the top of her cheek.  
Her lips were painted in the same colour, and also stretched to form a sick clownish smile, and on her cheeks there was drawn a club and a spade.

With other words, they were both very special looking persons.  
What confused Sora and his group the most however, was the lack of a uniform.  
Because of that, they couldn't know if this was an enemy, or not.  
"Oh, it's really rude to stare!" The girl in blue said, placing her hands on her hips.  
The darker voice had obviously belonged to her.  
"Rude to stare it is!" the other girl imitated the first one.  
The girl in blue suddenly slapped the other girl over the face in a swift movement of her hand.  
"Oh, shut up you twit!"

The group looked at them wide-eyed as the girl dressed in blue yelled insults at the girl dressed in red, who was crying like a little child who had just lost her favourite doll.  
"These chicks are weird" Sora said, scratching the back of his head before crossing his arms  
"eird? They're completely insane" Donald replied.

"Please, do excuse my sister" The girl in blue said as she turned her attention back to Sora and the rest "She's not quite right in the head"  
"Not right in the head, I am" the other girl mimicked and hit herself lightly on the forehead.  
"Allow us to introduce ourselves," the blue girl continued after sending her sister a quick glare "My name is Zorna, and my fool of a sister here is Thornette"  
Zorna's blue painted lips cracked into an evil smirk.  
"And we're your welcoming-committee, sent by the Others of course!"  
While her sister was looking dangerous and threatening, Thornette stood behind her waving a white little hand while smiling stupidly.

"Welcome to wonderland!"

--

The land of eternal rain... there was only one thing that one could always be certain of here; you went to sleep to the sound of raindrops playing their unpredictable song outside your window, and you woke up to the sound of raindrops playing the very same song, their eternal symphony...  
Almost wherever you went in the grand castle of Burmecia, you could hear this lullaby, this beautiful ballad, and this mournful lament.  
It was the eternal rule, in this land there would always be rain, and if nothing else, at least everyone here knew that.

On the fourth floor of the castle, the raindrops' song was more of a miserable lament than anywhere else.  
Why it sounded so horribly sad right here, nobody knew, but it was the truth, and everyone could hear what terrifying grief and sorrow the rain expressed here.  
It was because of this, that there was almost not a single soul that dared to live, or even set their foot on this floor. However, there are always exceptions to the rule.

In the cold stone corridors of the fourth floor, light footsteps from a couple of high-heeled shoes could be heard as loud echoes between the walls.  
No women lived on this floor, only three men did, however, the floor was very often visited by their most superior, their most respected and admired, their Empress.  
It was her this time as well, the graceful woman who were now completely dressed in black, she who had given them life, or at the very least; something to live for.

The Empress headed towards one of the three occupied rooms.  
This room was so close to never lit up as one could get, it was always engulfed completely in darkness, because the young boy who resided there liked it that way.  
It made him forget everything, if he could not see anything, then nothing could remind him of the past either. His Empress had convinced him that the only important thing was the future, the bright future that they were creating, the celestial future that he had longed for since his life had been so brutally snatched away.  
The Empress knocked on the door three times and waited for an answer.  
"You may enter" was the answer the young boy gave, and the Empress entered.

The boy sat on his bed, his back bent and his elbows resting on his knees.  
The black hood, the most crucial piece to this fine organization's uniform, hid his face from the empress eyes.  
As he realized it was his Empress, he got up from his seated position, revealing that he was not taller than a young woman.  
"My Empress" he said respectfully, and put his hand to where his heart was supposed to be, before he gave a deferent little bow.  
The Empress' red-painted lips curved into a gentle smile before she closed the door behind her.  
"You really live up to your given name, my dear" she said as she gracefully swept across the room towards the window. The window was covered by black curtains to prevent any light from entering the room, and thus interrupting the pleasant darkness.  
"It is so dark in here" with a refined movement the Empress parted the curtains to let the pale moonlight in.  
The boy averted his glance from the light, the moon had been considered unpleasant to him even before he had lost his heart.  
Again, the Empress swept across the floor, now towards him.  
"Why not let in the moonlight, as a reminder of the bright dawn we are walking towards?" she said, with the same gentle smile.  
The boy seemed to be looking at her.  
"If your wish is that I shall let in more light, then I shall welcome the light with joy" he replied, and bowed his head respectfully.  
Empress slipped her white fingers under the boy's hood, and gently brushed them against his cheek.  
"My dear... my beloved..." she whispered lovingly.  
The boy gave a pleasant sigh at the Empress' gentle and loving touch.  
"Soon is your time... Soon you shall be my brightest star" Empress continued.

This boy would agree to anything the Empress suggested, he was her obedient minion who would grant her every wish, her eternally grateful servant who would always search for new ways to make her happy, and no one... not a single soul except for his Empress, was allowed to touch him like this.  
"What shall I do... my Empress?" he asked silently, not wanting the moment to stop.  
The Empress rubbed her thumb softly against the boys lower lip to silence him.  
"Not yet... not yet my love" she whispered.  
"Your time will come soon little shadow..."  
The smaller boy lifted his hooded glance to look at her, and he gave another sigh of delight as the Empress moved her slender fingers over his ear.  
"And then you will shine... but for now, just observe them"  
The boy nodded in agreement to the Empress' request.  
"I will..."  
The Empress then slowly removed her hand and let it fall gracefully to her side, making the boy clench his fists in disappointment.  
"My beloved obedient little shadow..." Empress said lovingly.

"My dearest Nightshade"


End file.
